Project Office News: March 2007

Dear Colleagues:

Things are happening so fast for NEON that it seems appropriate to bring you up to date on recent developments and the schedule for the near future. Because of the tight schedule it is especially important that issues and concerns be brought to NEON, Inc.'s attention directly and immediately. Please do not hesitate to contact either of us concerning the substance of this letter or other matters related to NEON.

A few weeks ago the results of the NEON core site selection process were released. These results were based on the details we received from the Request for Information (RFI) responses, the outcome of a workshop of experts and a team of scientists from the USGS EROS Data Center, and the results of a follow-on synthesis effort by a dozen folks in Boulder, CO.

We now have a draft plan. It is important for us to let all of you know that the plan will be embodied in a proposal that will be reviewed by an NSF panel that will meet in the first week of May for what is termed the Preliminary Design Review (PDR). The PDR panel will include the ecological expertise to assess the site decisions, the overall scientific integrity of the program, and project management. NEON, Inc. will provide the panel with the scientific rationale and technical justification (e.g., geographic information, and RFI and statistical analyses) that led to the proposed experimental design.

With regard to site selection, that panel may recommend further site reviews, acquisition of additional data, or other actions they deem necessary. While we believe decisions made to date were based on objective criteria, in the interest of developing an excellent, science-based NEON, rigorous evaluation within the framework of formal merit review is crucial and required by NSF.

The NEON team has been working with a number of domains to optimize implementation of the relocatable system research design. In a few days NEON, Inc. will release a document with more details of how and where the NEON science questions will be addressed using the relocatable facilities. The research design for relocatable systems was quite preliminary after the Boulder meeting and many people have been working intensively to complete the proposed design. We continue to invite input on it. Any group with questions or concerns should contact NEON, Inc. directly. This document will clarify remaining ambiguities and provide a more detailed basis for additional scientific discussion.

NEON, Inc. is developing a nationwide, integrated measurement and analysis facility unlike any previously developed for the ecological sciences. It will not be a program of autonomous Domains but rather a networked system whose most important products will enable synthesis and forecasting at previously unobserved scales. Our goal is to develop a national platform that will be a major NSF facility. NEON must fit this model. This is a new idea for the ecological community and we are working iteratively toward creating such a platform. Any and all questions regarding the conception, details, and implementation should be sent to NEON, Inc.

We, as individuals and as representatives of NEON, Inc., are anxious to receive input with regard to every decision that is made. We hope that input will be in the form of specific suggestions or constructive criticisms. NEON is on a tight schedule and decisions must be made. Not everyone will agree with every decision, but we hope that lack of agreement does not mean lack of support for NEON per se. Please contact us with any issues that arise as you follow our progress. We appreciate all you have done to date and know we can call on you in the future.

Sincerely,